1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a plastic drawer for furniture which comprises in its front wall, for the fastening of a frontal facing, several openings, which are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction, for the passage of fasteners held on the frontal facing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
On known drawers of this kind, there are provided on the outside of the front wall longitudinal and/or transverse members to which the facing is attached. For the fastening of this frontal facing, the known drawer comprises in its front wall and on the inside directed towards the drawer interior two or three pockets which are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction and which are of approximately groovelike design and are open towards the drawer interior. The openings described at the beginning are located in the area of each pocket and serve for the passage of approximately pin-shaped fasteners, later to be anchored in the frontal facing, in the shape of screws which are placed through the openings from the drawer interior and are screwed into the facing. By this means, the facing is firmly pulled from the outside against the longitudinal and/or transverse members of the drawer front wall. The pockets can then be covered on the inside of the drawer front wall by means of cover strips which may, for example, be clipped on, detented and/or glued on and which close the pockets, which are open towards the drawer interior, so that the front wall inside forms a substantially smooth continuous surface. The mentioned openings may be designed as oblong holes so that the known fastening method allows a sensitive adjustment of the frontal facing within the plane set up thereby and relative to the drawer and thus an adaptation to dimensional variations, inaccurate bores in the facing etc. This known screw method has so far been the standard way of fastening the frontal facing. It has, however, some decisive disadvantages which will be discussed hereinafter. The essential disadvantage connected therewith is felt to be the necessity of closing the openings in the pockets, which are open towards the drawer interior, by means of special cover strips. It has turned out that, even when the adaptation is very good, there are left in the edge zone of the inserted cover strips chinks and grooves in which dirt is liable to accumulate and which are difficult to reach for cleaning. This is an important aesthetic and above all hygienic shortcoming since the aim is to provide for the drawer interior a smooth and continuous surface which can be properly and easily cleaned and has no corners or chinks where dirt accumulates and which are difficult to clean. The outlined fastening method is also disadvantageous because, viewed in its longitudinal direction, the facing is fixed at very specific intervals only, namely approximately in a point-like manner, causing, when the drawer base is heavily loaded and the latter is deformed as a result, the drawer front wall to be also deformed, at least in its upper edge zone, and to be slightly lifted from the inside of the screwed-on facing, and thus to form a gap which is also accessible to contamination and dirt that cannot be removed. The described screw fastening of the facing thus allows movements of the drawer front wall relative to the facing. There is therefore no guarantee that the facing will stay securely and immovably fixed to the drawer front wall all round, even when the drawer is subjected to stress. The facing is thus not completely included in the total drawer construction as an element which contributes to stiffen the drawer front wall. It is furthermore disadvantageous that the fastening of the facing to the drawer is relatively complicated and time-consuming and cannot be effected without special expert knowledge and special tools. This also becomes apparent in a disadvantageous manner when a screwed-on facing has to be later replaced against a new facing, for example because it has been damaged.
It has been attempted to overcome some of these disadvantages by fastening the frontal facing to dowels which project from the drawer front wall and sometimes also from the frontal narrow surfaces of the two drawer side walls. The facing is placed on these dowels and struck until the dowels firmly engage in the facing with their entire free length. Expediently, the places of the facing where the dowels are to engage in the latter are marked or pre-drilled. If this is not the case or if the marking is incorrect or the bores are fitted incorrectly, there results within the facing plane an incorrect relative position between the facing and the drawer. Subsequent corrections will be impossible. Even with an incorrect relative position and fastening, it is practice sometimes desired to be able to adjust the frontal facing relative to the drawer within the facing plane in retrospect, for example if the guideways for the drawer, which are fixed to the piece of furniture, do not extend exactly within a horizontal plane but extend, considered in the transverse direction, in a plane that is inclined somewhat to the left or right. The upper and lower edges of the facing will then accordingly extend obliquely to the right or left, which is unsightly and, for the rest, sometimes causes the facings to be jammed on adjacent furniture facing parts. Thus, this fastening method also has serious disadvantages, but it avoids openings in the drawer front wall which are open towards the drawer interior and have to be covered by means of special covering strips which mostly do not provide a complete closure. However, with this fastening method, there also has to be accepted that the frontal facing does not adjoin the drawer front wall fixedly and without gaps all round, that is to say that in the event of the drawer and the drawer front wall being deformed gaps will be formed between the front wall and the facing in which dirt accumulates. The facing is not incorporated in the construction as a stiffening element for the drawer front wall. The exchange of a damaged facing for a new facing is relatively complicated and can only be effected by trained staff.
The task underlying the invention therefore is to provide a plastic drawer of the defined species where the facing is fastened to the drawer front wall in such a way that there is no need for any openings in the inner surface of the drawer front wall, this surface thus forming a gap- and chink-free surface which is smooth and continuous with respect to the other inner surfaces of the drawer, and that the facing can furthermore be quickly and easily fastened to the drawer without specialised knowledge and without special devices or tools and can also be exchanged for another in the same manner and that, in any event, while the possibility of a subsequent adjustment in the longitudinal direction of the drawer front wall and in the vertical direction thereof is maintained, the facing can be firmly clamped all round against the front wall edge, the facing being simultaneously incorporated in the drawer construction as an element stiffening the front wall all round and resting so firmly against the front wall that even in the event of the drawer being heavily loaded, any deformation of the drawer front wall relative to the facing, and thus the formation of any gaps or chinks, is prevented.